


All I Want

by whatchaudoin (haleyc510)



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2020-10-14 06:16:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20596076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haleyc510/pseuds/whatchaudoin
Summary: Laura does coffee runs for her office in the morning. Carmilla runs the coffee shop she stops at.





	1. Welcome To New York

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote a coffee shop au because i've worked at starbucks for over a year and have yet to have my own so I made hollstein have another one. Title from the Joni Mitchell song because it really hits all the bases for this fic. The chapters are named after the songs on 1989 cuz it helped me build a plot. Let me know how you guys like it A special thank you to my editor, Laura :)

**April, Laura POV**

Okay, it’s 8:43. You’ve got a seven-minute walk to the office from here, so you should get there five minutes early. Well, five minutes early if it only takes five minutes for the baristas to finish your drinks. The day before, you’d met Betty at this same Starbucks. She had sent you a screenshot of the order to send in, and instructions on how to pick up the drinks before work and who to deliver them to. 

It’s your third day as an admin assistant at a small publication in New York, which means your professional life now consists of endless coffee runs and running files between floors for nine hours a day. It’s not much, but everyone has to start somewhere. You appreciate how kind everyone at the office has been to you so far and you hope it’s not just because you’re new. 

The café is busier today than it was yesterday, but you see that the first tray of drinks for the office is already sitting at the end of the bar, waiting for you. There’s also a different barista working at the bar today and, well, she’s _ cute _. Maybe it’s just a coffee shop thing, maybe you have to be cute to work here. Her dark, curly hair is pulled up into an "I totally woke up like this" bun, and she’s wearing a loose top underneath her emblematic green apron. Her name tag reads “Carmilla” with a pair of fangs doodled next to it.

_ Carmilla _. It seems fitting, she looks like a Carmilla. 

“I’ve got a big mobile order for Laura at the bar!” Carmilla calls out to the café and you adjust your bag to free up your hands.

“You got it all, cutie?” Now that you're standing at the counter you can see just how cute Carmilla really is. Her eyes are warm, a smirk crinkling their edges.

“Um, yea. I think so.” You grab the first tray and Carmilla grabs the second one.

“It’s easier to carry if you stack one on top of the other.” She sets the second tray on top of the first. “Are you taking over for Betty?” 

“You know Betty?”

“You can’t order eight drinks every day during the busiest time of day without being _ known _. Though, I think her replacement is much cuter.” Carmilla grins at you, winks, and goes back to making drinks. “Have a good one.”

Feeling your cheeks flush, you grab the trays and hurry out of the store. 8:48. Plenty of time.

*****

You get home from work satisfyingly exhausted but mostly exhausted. This job is a _ lot _of moving around and you’d been on your feet nearly the whole day. Luckily, Danny, a writer for the paper, introduced you to a couple of people in the surrounding offices and you’d made some new friends. She’d also given you her phone number and said to text her anytime if she wanted someone to show you around the city, which was super nice.

Kicking off your shoes, you grab your laptop before curling up on the couch and opening your planner. You start writing down your schedule for tomorrow and your thoughts drift absentmindedly to the barista who had been exceptionally attractive this morning. _ Carmilla _. She was obviously flirting this morning, and you were excited at the prospect of seeing her again tomorrow morning.

You have several meetings in the morning tomorrow to attend and you look forward to meeting more of the people at the office. You don’t plan on being an assistant forever and meeting new people is how you find your way in the world. After putting on some music, you finish typing up the draft of the memo your boss had assigned after the meeting today and you close your laptop feeling accomplished.

*****

Carmilla is working again. Well, sort of. She's sitting in a corner table typing away intently at a computer with several papers in front of her. It doesn't look at all like she wants to be bothered. You brush away the feeling of disappointment, realizing you won’t get to talk to her today.

You wait by the drink pick up and try to keep from stealing glances at her. She picks up the cup she's drinking from and tilts it all the way back, finishing the last bit. The dark-haired girl is wearing another low cut top, this one sheer and striped, and you can't help but stare at her now. Her head is still back and her neck and chest are just so there and she's so pale and soft and-

Ok, creepy. That’s creepy, Hollis. Why are you thinking about the softness of some barista’s neck?! Grab your drinks and go!

You swallow nervously and try to be invisible as Carmilla gets up from her table. She walks behind the counter and orders another drink. Then, she looks up at you, making eye contact with you smiling. You smile back and wave, which makes her chuckle. She moves over to the bar and starts putting a ridiculous amount of drinks into drink trays, drinks you guess belong to you.

“So which drink is yours?” Carmilla asks you and her voice is just as nice as you remember. 

“Oh, I don’t order my drink with these, I didn’t know if I was allowed to...” Carmilla gives you a look and then turns to grab a cup and begins making a drink.

In less than a minute, you have all the trays settled and she's setting an extra cup in front of you. Your name is scrawled across the top of it in small, loopy handwriting. 

“For you.” She looks a little shy as you take the cup and set it with the other drinks, your chest warm the entire time. 

“Do I get to know what it is?”

“It’s a black and white mocha with a little bit of raspberry.” Maybe you made a face because Carmilla has an unreadable expression. “Really sweet and a little fruity.” She smirks at you and you blush. Hard.

“Is that supposed to be a gay joke? Because I know I’m not shy about my sexuality but I don’t really appreciate strangers making assumptions about me for no good reason.” You aren’t really upset, maybe just a little reactive because you don’t know what to do with her looking at you like that.

She softens and gestures to a rainbow pin on her apron, “Pride pin, sweetheart. I’m a lesbian, don’t worry. I didn’t mean to make assumptions about you.”

Your face flushes again and you let out a small sigh, “Me too.”

“Glad we got that cleared up.” She winks at you and slides the trays closer to you. “See you tomorrow, cutie. I’ll have your drink for you.”

*****

You spend all day staring at your Starbucks cup. You don’t want to throw it away (even though you finished your drink long ago) because you want to keep looking at the way that Carmilla wrote your name. There are usually stickers on all the cups, you've never seen the baristas write on them. Seeing your name in her handwriting is… different. You feel dumb because it’s just a cup! She probably flirts with _ tons _ of girls and gives them _ all _ free drinks, but you can't help but also feel warm inside. 

Between meetings you wonder if you’re really just reading way too much into the drink, the looks, the flirting. You're starting to feel a little girl crazy, but it’s a good feeling. Having a crush is fun, but you didn’t realize it had gotten this far. But that thing with the pride pin was totally flirting, right? She calls you cutie and sweetheart like she doesn’t know your name, but you know that she does because she wrote it on your cup. She winks at you too, she’s done it at least twice. It’s a little disarming, to be honest.

A text from your group chat with LaFontaine and Perry pulls you from your thoughts. Perry says she hopes you're settling in well and has invited you over for dinner. Perry and LaFontaine had moved to the city two years earlier and had offered to help you move in when you had told them the news of your upcoming arrival, but you’d politely declined their offer. Not this time, though. You respond with, “Yes!!!” feeling warm and happy about seeing your friends again.

The day ends quickly after that and you all but sprint out of the office to get over to Laf and Perry’s. 

***** 

Dinner is good. It always is with Perry’s cooking.

You three catch up: LaF's on the verge of several major breakthroughs, there’s just a number of variables to work out before they can move onto the testing stages. Perry’s catering clientele has grown an insane amount in the past two years and she’s having to make expansions to deal with the uptick in business. It's all very great things and you’re so incredibly proud of your friends.

They ask you if you’ve made any new friends since moving and you tell them the truth-- "No, not really." It’s only been a week, after all.

LaF asks you if you’ve met any cute girls and you get a little shy. You think about Carmilla.

“That’s a yes if I ever saw one. Spill, Hollis!” LaF has that delighted look in their eyes that they get when they're getting to the bottom of a mystery. 

“All I know is her name! Well, and, that she’s a lesbian.” 

“So have you asked her on a date? Do you want to?”

“Carmilla doesn’t seem like the dating type.” You shrug.

Perry chimes in, “You don’t know that, sweetie. How did you meet her?”

“She works at the Starbucks I stop at before work. She’s always really flirty and she’s probably the most attractive person I’ve ever seen up close. Like, movie star level gorgeous.” You sigh, remembering how soft she had looked this morning. 

“Do you think she likes you?” 

You laugh at the idea of someone that looks like Carmilla being into you because, well, it is simply ridiculous. You know you’re pretty attractive, but _ Carmilla. _Carmilla looks like she belongs on magazine covers and on red carpets for movie premieres. And you’re more like, H&M ad level hot. Well, okay, maybe GAP. 

“She made me a drink today. And she also said that she’ll have my drink when I come in tomorrow.”

LaF jumps, “What? She said see you tomorrow and she’s giving you free drinks?”

“Yea, is that weird or something?” You furrow your brow. Nobody’s ever given you free coffee unless it was on a date. But, she works there so, it’s different, right?

“Laura. Giving you a free drink is like saying ‘please fuck me’ in barista.”

Your face gets hot, and while you’re _ totally _ harboring a crush on Carmilla, the idea that said crush could actually be returned sends your head spinning in, like, three different directions. 

“So what do I do?” 

“I think you should ask her out, Laura.” Perry chimes in from across the couch. “I mean, you’re clearly interested and there’s a chance she is too. The worst she can do is say no.”

“Yes, but then I'll have to find a different Starbucks once I've been rejected by the world's hottest barista." You imagine sourly. How could you ever show your face there again?

“Who says that she’s gonna say no?” LaF says, all too matter-of-factly, and you hate the way they make so much sense.

The idea of Carmilla saying yes to your hypothetical date is nearly as scary as her saying no. You’ve managed to keep your awkwardness as on the down-low as humanly possible when you’ve talked to her so far, but it would be completely unavoidable on a date.

But then you think about what you’d take her to do. Maybe dinner and a movie. Something easy, low stress, but still fun enough. You think about her sitting next to you in the theater, her arm over your shoulders and your head resting against her. 

Yeah, okay. You have to ask her out.

*****

You miss Carmilla the next day. Maybe she was in the back or something. 

Then it was the weekend, so you didn’t even go to that side of town.

Monday rolls around and you walk in to see her working at the bar, one of your drink trays already halfway full. You're determined to ask her out today. You’ve rehearsed what you're going to say so you won't accidentally shove your foot down your throat, like you normally would, _ without _intense and overly complicated practice, that is. 

But then Carmilla sees you standing there and your eyes meet hers. She perks up when she sees you walk in and your stomach flips at the thought that maybe she's happy to see you.

“Hey, cutie. I missed you on Friday.” 

You smile at her as she finishes setting up your drink trays.

“I missed you too.” You take in a breath and just say it. “Maybe I can make it up to you? Like on a date?”

Carmilla tenses up for a millisecond, but then grins, and every bit of stress you have disappears.

“That sounds nice. When were you thinking?” 

You stop. Because you did it. You asked Carmilla on a date. And she’d said _ yes _.

“Uh, okay! Awesome! How about Thursday?” Your voice had somehow jumped up a whole octave. Carmilla pouts at you and you feel yourself melting at her puppy dog eyes.

“You’re gonna make me wait until nearly the end of the week, creampuff?” 

Your lips curl up in a shy smile and you say, “Sometimes a girl’s gotta manufacture her own excitement, you know?”

Carmilla's frown turns into a small smile as she leans over toward the drink trays. She rotates the cup in the middle and to reveal a phone number written on the cup.

“Text me, cutie.”  
“Okay, I will.” You grab the drink trays and leave the cafe, thankful that your hands are full so you can't do a _ really _embarrassing happy dance.


	2. Blank Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura asked Carmilla on a date, and now it's time to see what they do on said date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends I hope you enjoy this chapter. I don't have an update schedule but I'm trying to keep it as regular as I can.

**April, Carmilla POV**

“You haven’t stopped with that stupid grinning all morning. What’s gotten into you?” Mel crosses her arms and aims a vicious look that almost resembles curiosity your way. You roll your eyes.

“Nothing. Just remembered a funny joke, that’s all.” You promptly shut your notebook and stand up to leave the table where she’s cornered you.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with  _ Laura _ does it? That little bubbly blonde with the big mobile order?” 

_ Laura _ .

Without permission, your face cracks into a wide grin and you know that Mel’s never going to let you live it down. You see the cogs in her brain turning, about to double down for more information; you answer before she even asks.

“She asked me out, nothing earth-shattering. It’s just a date.”

Mel steps in front of you, stopping you from running away. “Hold up! It’s not  _ just  _ a date! You don’t go on dates! You must really like her.”

You try to find an excuse, picking your brain for something,  _ anything,  _ to avoid more of this conversation, but your phone dings on the table between the both of you. Reflexively, you pick it up and see that Laura’s texted you good morning. Another irrepressible smile breaks across your face. If this stupid crush is going to fuck up your aggressively “angrier-than-thou” image, it better be worth it.

“I can’t really like her, I barely even know her.”

Your phone dings again and this time Laura’s sent a coffee cup emoji with a “See you soon!” Ignoring Mel’s inquisition, you decide to respond to Laura’s texts instead.

**Carmilla: ** Well, good morning to you, too.

**Laura: ** :)

The cafe starts getting a little busier, with more people milling their way inside than leaving. You decide to actually go do some work. And that decision has absolutely nothing to do with a cute, bubbly, blonde currently making her way to your cafe. 

******

You kick one of your trainees off the bar when you notice Laura’s mobile order coming through. You want to make sure that you get to talk to her when she comes in. The order is still the same eight drinks it always is, sans Betty’s, of course. Laura still hadn’t ordered a drink for herself. You immediately begin making her one. 

After scribbling her name on the cup, you throw in a smiley face (with vampire fangs on the smile, because you’re not soft, just flirty). You situate all the drinks properly, with Laura’s drink on top. You turn to finish another drink and when you turn back around, you see her. She’s standing at the hand-off plane, twisting the straps of her bag with a shy smile on her face.

“Morning, cutie. How are you?” It’s busier than usual, so you have to keep making drinks while you talk to her. It's extremely obnoxious; you care way more about how she is than the stupid flat white you’re making for Dan right now.

“I’m okay, a little better now.” Her ears go the slightest bit pink and the sheer cuteness of it almost makes you smile.  _ Almost. _

“Oh? Does the downtown scenery do it for you? If you saw the dumpsters out back, you might change your mind.”

She laughs at your dumb joke, which is a relief, because somehow your brain decided that good flirting material included mentioning the rank dumpsters behind the building. 

“No, it’s just that there’s this really pretty barista at a coffee shop I stop at every once in a while.”

You cock an eyebrow at her, “Do I have competition already?”

She hums then answers. “If the winner gets a hot date with me later this week, then you’re already way ahead.”

“That works for me.” You tap the lid of her cup. “I made you a London fog today, it’s an earl grey latte with vanilla.”

“Sounds good, I’ll let you know how I like it.”

Laura grabs her trays and heads out the door after you tell her to have a good day. You watch as she leaves. 

You tell the trainee that they can get back to what they were doing and Mel just stares at you with a smug facial expression. You flip her off before walking into the back until the smile falls off your face. It takes a solid two minutes.

*****

Laura texts you. A lot. They come in flurries of twos and threes and you wonder if she knows that she could just send one long text, instead of several small ones, but it’s very  _ her _ .

She says that she loved the drink you made her today, and she was excited about what you’d come up with tomorrow. Then, she recounts a tale of an older man who farted during a meeting, waking himself up with the noise. You send back a vomiting emoji and she responds with a blushing smiley face. You roll your eyes at how much you enjoy talking to her. 

You turn over on the couch, actively ignoring the pile of clean clothes that have been begging to be folded for several days, waiting for Laura to text you again. 

There’s no way it was only Tuesday night. Not that you minded only seeing her in the mornings, but the time was so brief and you wanted to see how much you could really get her to blush. She hasn’t even seen your ass yet, and not that you were full of yourself or anything, but you knew what you were working with.

Your date was going to take its sweet time getting here.

You ask if she has any idea of what she wanted to do and she says that she, in fact, does. With multiple exclamation points. It is a secret, however. No exceptions.

You get her to confirm that it was nothing outside, but that’s all. 

After noticing the time, you decide to head to bed, shooting Laura a short text letting her know you were going to sleep.

*****

You were in the back room counting stuff when you feel your phone buzz in your pocket.

**Laura:** Decided you didn’t want to see me today?

**Carmilla: ** Not yet, give me a minute.

You quickly find a stopping point and walk to the front of the store where Laura’s fiddling with something at the condiment bar. You quickly throw together a dirty chai latte and bring it out to her.

She stops and looks you up and down, nearly dropping the stir stick she’d been messing with. You realize this is the first time she’s seen you without an apron on. You let out the smile you’d been fighting since she texted you and you see her relax.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” She smiles back at you, then points to the cup you’re holding. “Is that for me?”

“Only the latte for now, cupcake. You haven’t even taken me on one date yet.”

She blushes.  _ Success.  _

“You’re lucky you’re cute, otherwise I’d think you were full of yourself.”

“Oh, you have no idea how full of myself I am.”

Laura rolls her eyes at you, but you catch her smile. 

“Well, you’ll have plenty of time to tell me about how awesome you are tomorrow.”

You hand her the drink and say, “I’m looking forward to it, sundance.” 

She starts walking towards the door to leave and you head back towards the counter with an extra swing in your hips. You look back towards her and wink, because that always gets a reaction from her.

She bumps into the doorframe on the way out and that leaves you with a satisfied smile. At least she enjoyed the show.

*****

Your meeting with Laura in the cafe was a little shorter than usual this morning. She said there was an early meeting at work and had to rush out, but she’d sent a follow up text reconfirming that she was going to pick you up at your apartment at 7:30. She still looked, frustratingly, as cute as ever. 

You’re a little nervous for this evening. 

Which was weird because it’s just a date. 

Just a date with  _ Laura _ .

Who, for some reason, has managed to catch your attention in a way that nobody had in a really long time. All your dating exploits for the past three years were strings of one night stands and dates that you didn’t even want to be on that your friends had set up. But, this date was so different. You cared about how this date went.

You start planning your outfit for tonight in your head. There’s only like, nine hours between now and your date. Not that you were counting.

*****

You hear the buzzer of your apartment go off, Laura’s voice coming through it.

“Carmilla? It’s Laura, I’m downstairs.”

You grab your jacket from the back of a chair and click your end of the buzzer, “Hey, cutie. I’ll be right down, hold tight.”

Walking out of your apartment and down the stairs, you have to stop your feet from moving too quickly.  _ Embarrassing.  _

Laura’s standing outside in a yellow top with black polka dots. She’s got on jeans and a matching denim jacket with her hair pulled back in a half ponytail. You’re glad you got the casual dress memo.

“Hey.” She says. You walk towards her, your hands in your jacket pockets because you aren’t really sure what you should do with them.

“Hey.” You say back. She shuffles her feet a little, and then smiles at you.

“You ready to go? We have a little bit of a walk.”

“Not too far I hope? I wore my good jacket today.”

She moves towards you and loops her arm through yours and starts leading you down the street to your, still unknown destination. Her other hand comes up and touches your forearm.

“Oh, this is a nice jacket.” She pinches the material between her fingers and you let out a short laugh at her. 

“I told you.” You half expect her to drop her second hand, but she continues to touch you. It’s… nice. Nicer than you had expected. You like the way it feels, having her walk next to you, pressed up against your side. “So, what exactly are we doing tonight that requires us walking across the city?”

“It’s not across the city, just a few blocks south. We’re going to the movies.”

“We’re not going to see that Avenger’s movie, are we?”

“Nope! That movie is way too sad for a first date, and, plus, I’ve already promised my friend LaF that I’d see it with them.”

“Thank god we don’t have to see a superhero movie.”

Laura only giggled and you nudged her shoulder with yours and she bumped you back. You both laughed and continued small talking your way towards the theater.

*****

So, she makes you see a superhero movie, but it was actually really good. It ended up being about some foster kid that becomes a chosen one and turns into a superman-like hero who fights a big bad guy, all while trying to keep his secret identity from his foster family. In the end, all his other siblings find out and somehow get powers too, and they win. It was super cute. Laura loved it, which is the most important part.

Watching her watch the movie was probably the best part of the whole thing. She’d taken a bathroom break halfway through, and when she came back, she leaned into you and you threw your arm around her shoulders. 

Now you were heading towards a small restaurant near the theater. She chirped away happily about how cool it was that the kids powers mirrored their personalities, and how it helped them all discover the power that they had before. 

She asks if you liked the movie and you say yes, you did, and you make sure she knows she picked a good one. At the diner, you both sit down on opposite sides of the booth. She flips through the menu, still talking a mile a minute, though now about how much this place reminds her of somewhere she used to go all the time.

You quietly sit back in the booth, and watch her pore over the menu as she debates between breakfast for dinner or the burger. She taps your foot with hers and you sit up, alert.

“What are you looking at?”

“You.” 

She blushes once again and your heart kicks in your chest for the umpteenth time this evening. 

“I meant to eat, silly.”

“Do I need to say it again?” You smirk and her blush deepens. You decide to give her a break and answer her question. “The steak finger basket looks good. I might get that with tater tots.”

Soon, you both order and the food comes. As the two of you eat, you just can’t stop staring at her. You even begin to show off a little, tossing tater tots up in the air and catching them in your mouth. She tries to do it with a few that she stole off your plate with little success.

You didn’t let her get away with stealing your food without complaint, but you aren’t even really mad. She’s just so bright. Everything seems lighter with her around. She catches you staring a couple of times, but she often drops your gaze. By the time you both finish your food, it’s late. 

You ask if you can walk her home, and she agrees. You help her get her jacket on and you linger behind her a little longer than you mean to. It’s the first time you’ve been able to smell her shampoo and you can feel her lean back towards you slightly, so you know she isn’t uncomfortable.

She asks to hold your hand about halfway back to her place, and you take her hand in yours eagerly. Raising it to your face, you kiss the back of her hand quickly. The small smile she’d been wearing blossoms into a grin. It makes you feel warm all over. 

When you, all too soon, arrive at her apartment, it’s a little weird. Neither of you really want the date to be over yet, but this seems like a good place to end it. She’s brought to silence for nearly the first time this evening, and looks at you in a way you haven’t seen her look at you before. Your eyes drop down to her lips and you realize how close you two are standing. 

“Could I kiss you?” You ask. 

“You could, if you wanted to.”

You put your hands on her waist and pull her into you. “If I wanted to?”

Her hands move to your shoulders, and you realize you want to kiss her more than anything right now.

“I mean, I definitely want you to.”

You lean down and kiss her. It’s soft. It feels light. She presses further into you and kisses you back, her lips moving gently against yours. One of her hands moves from your shoulder to the back of your neck, her fingers sliding through your hair. She pulls away and bites her bottom lip and you want to kiss her all over again.

“Goodnight, Carmilla.”

“Goodnight, Laura.”

She walks towards her door and waves at you. You smile. 

You smile the entire walk home.

*****

You’re stuck on the register when Laura comes in the next morning. She sees you standing there from the other side of the store. You smile at her, but continue to help customers. 

For some reason, Laura gets in line. Before she has a chance to order, you send through a drink for her.

“I’ve already got a drink going for you. Anything else I can get you today, cutie?”

“Um, how about a chocolate croissant? Warmed up, please.”

“Anything for you, cupcake.” 

“Thank you.” She says when you hand her the pastry bag. “I wanted to tell you that I had a really good time with you last night. I would really like to do it again. Hopefully soon.”

“It’s my turn to plan it, right?”

“Only if you want to.” 

“I’ll figure something out. Prepare to be romanced like never before.”

“If I trust anyone to do it right, it’s you.”

“How about tomorrow night? I won’t have work early.”

“That sounds good, text me.” 

*****

You pick her up around sunset. You’re carrying a backpack with food and a picnic blanket in it and you plan on taking her to Central Park. Its cliché and cheesy--and you definitely won’t get a good view of the stars being that you’re in the middle of the city--but you think she’ll appreciate the thought nonetheless. 

She meets you downstairs after you send your “here” text. 

“What’s with the backpack?” She asks.

“This is holds all the secrets to date night.” You pull the straps with your thumbs and she looks even more excited.

“Ooh, sounds mysterious. Where are we going?” She moves down from her doorstep towards you. She’s wearing a sundress and you’re so thankful for the warmer evenings.

“We’re taking the train today, I refuse to walk all the way to Central Park.” You gesture for her to follow you and she grabs your wrist as you turn away.

“Can I get a kiss hello before we go?” Her hand is warm around yours, and, while you weren’t planning on getting to the kissing phase of this evening this early, your resolve is quickly fading.

“There’ll be plenty of time for that later, I promise.” Laura pouts a little in fake disappointment and you roll your eyes. You stop and bring her face to yours with a finger on her chin, giving her a chaste kiss. It’s annoying how hard it is to say no to her, but after you see the smile on her face, you think that maybe it’s not all bad.

She likes holding your hand, you’ve noticed. Or walking with her arm looped through yours. Or resting her head on your shoulder while you ride the train. She’s so warm and cute and soft and you can’t bring yourself to be annoyed by it in the slightest. It made your chest warm knowing that she liked being close to you.

You finally arrive at the park and you pick a spot with a clear view of the sky. There aren’t any clouds and the sun was almost out of the sky. You thank whatever higher power gave you good weather tonight and pull out the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that you’d packed along with the bottles of water.

“You made PB&J?” She picks up her sandwich and gives you a look. You’re sitting down next to her with your legs stretched out in front of you.

“Sorry, I thought I’d have better food at my house, but by the time I’d realized I didn’t, I didn’t have time to go to the store.” You’re a little nervous because you realize it’s kinda silly, but she just smiles and takes a bite of the sandwich.

“Whoever said a sandwich tastes better when someone else makes it for you was absolutely right.” She says through a mouthful of PB&J. You laugh and she smiles.

“I might have to test that theory.” You lean towards her and kiss her soundly, hearing her hum in approval. You pull away, but her hand is gripping your shirt as she pulls you in for another kiss. When she lets go of your shirt, her cheeks are pink. “My compliments to the chef.”

“You’re the chef.” She deadpans and you smirk at her.

“I know.”

She rolls her eyes. “You’re insufferable.” 

You shrug and dig into your food. “Maybe so, but I still got you on a second date.”

She gives you a playful shove on the shoulder and you fall into an easy conversation until all the food you packed is gone. Finally, you lie down and stare up at the sky. She copies you, tangling her fingers with yours and scooting into your side. 

“You ready for part two?” She nods and you ask her. “What do you know about constellations?”

“I could probably pick out the big dipper and Orion’s belt, but that’s about it.”

“Excellent starting point.” You show her the rest of Orion’s body, including his bow. “When’s your birthday?”

“September 11th.”

“You’re a Virgo?”

“A bit textbook, really.”

“Good to know.” You point out the big dipper and follow it’s handle down to the constellation Virgo. “It’s that one that looks like a lopsided box. You can’t see much from here, mostly because of all the light pollution and because we don’t have a telescope, but there’s a massive galaxy cluster inside of it.”

“Really? That’s super cool, we have to look at it through a telescope sometime.”

“Whatever you want.” 

She asks you when your birthday is and you tell her. “It’s November 20th.”

“What sign is that?”

“Scorpio, sweetheart.” 

She pokes you in the side. “Is that why you’re so hot?”

“You don’t know the half of it yet, cutie.”

“Can you show me that constellation?”

“I can try to find it, it’s more of a late summer constellation though.”

Laura goes through the list of constellations she can name and you point them out to her. She snuggles into your side, eyes attentively following the stars you point out. 

*****

You take Laura back to her apartment and she asks if you want to come up.

You say yes, ignoring how suddenly nervous you were. The last half hour you both spent at the park was more kissing than stargazing and it was becoming habit forming. Laura liked to be kissed first, but she liked to take control from there. Her hands were always pulling you closer to her, in your hair, or by your shirt. She liked it when you bit her lip, or when your grip on her hips became a little too tight.

The inside of Laura’s apartment is warm. There’s a lot of plants on the end tables, and art on the walls. She drops her keys on the kitchen table and she grabs two mugs from the cabinet.

“Do you want some cocoa? I’m not a big coffee drinker.”

“You drink the lattes I make you every morning.”

“Those are mostly sugar, and you know it.”

You shrug and make your way to the couch. “Is it cool if I sit here?”

“Oh, totally! Make yourself comfortable, I’ll be there in a mo’.”

True to her (very dorky and adorable) words she came walking into the living room with two mugs of hot chocolate a few minutes later. She curls up in the middle of the couch with her square TARDIS mug and you’re tucked into the corner. You both quietly sip at your mugs and as she continually glances at you. 

You notice her bookshelf that’s full of an array of genres. She had a collector’s edition box set of Harry Potter books at eye level, next to it several other well worn fiction novels. There are a couple pop funko figurines of Doctor Who characters on another shelf and her nerdiness makes you grin.

“You a bit of a nerd?” She looks away from you blushing and you set down your mug. You let a hand rest on her knee and she looks at you again. “I wasn’t making fun of you, just observing my surroundings.”

“Yeah, but I’m a proud nerd at least.” She lifts her chin triumphantly with a wide grin on her face and you can’t help but laugh at her. After a pause, you realize how much you smile when you’re around her. It feels good to feel happy like this, so easily and casual. It’s easy being around her. It was comfortable. You’d known this girl for like a week and she’s got you laughing like a schoolgirl. 

You wanted to be defensive, suddenly, but you decided to lean into the comfort and warmth that she made you feel instead. It feels a little risky, deciding to trust your feelings about Laura. It was certainly more than a crush now and you could see that plainly. You look up and take in the sight of her in front of you. 

She’s still wearing her dress, but she’s let her hair all the way down. Her flats were on the floor by the couch and her knees were tucked into her chest facing you. She was looking at you too, her lips in a small smile. She’s so beautiful. How is she so beautiful?

“Also a drop dead gorgeous one.” 

“You’re being awfully forward, Miss-” She stops and scrunches up her face. “What’s your last name?”

“Karnstein.”

“In that case, you’re being awfully forward, Miss Karnstein.”

“You’re the one who invited me up to your apartment, Miss…” You trail off and she sets her mug down. Suddenly, she’s in your personal space, her face hovering a few inches from yours.

“It’s Hollis.”

You close the gap between the two of you. She nudges your knees and you move your legs, allowing her to climb into your lap. Your arms go around her waist and she sighs into your kiss. You feel her tongue pressing at your lips and her hands tugging on your hair and you groan against her. 

She’s kissing you deeper now, hungrier. Your hands find their way to her thighs and you run them up the skirt of her dress, resting on the warm skin you found there. Her hips grind down into yours and you reach your hands around and grip her ass, pulling her hips down to meet yours harder. 

You feel her start to kiss down your neck, and her hands are moving against you underneath your shirt.

“Wait.” You pull away and lean back out of her reach. You move your hands to a more appropriate place above her dress. 

“Is everything okay?” She looks worried, but she’s still sitting in your lap, her hands resting on your waist.

“Yes. Yes, everything’s fine.” You smooth out the furrow in her brow with your thumb. “I just don’t want to do this yet.”

She smiles at you and you kiss her nose. 

“Okay. Did you want to go?”

“Even if I wanted to, I don’t know if I could right now.” 

She realizes that she’s still in your lap and she gingerly finds her way back to the middle of the couch. You return to small talk over your cocoa and you let your fingers play with her hair while she rests her head on your shoulder. You eventually decide you have to leave, so she sends you away with a quick kiss and an order to text her that you got home safely.

God, this girl was something else.


	3. Style

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura is catching some Feelings, talks to the wrong people, communicates her worries about a situation, gets reassured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically the Laura Hollis drama hour. Sorry that it's so short, I don't like this chapter a whole whole lot, but I have the next chapter totally finished and I love that one so expect it sooner, hopefully.

You’re having dinner with LaF and Perry again. They both decided to make it a weekly thing and, honestly, it was nice to see friends regularly like this. Perry had made chicken spaghetti and you all were talking animatedly about LaF’s dangerous antics at the research lab.

“All I’m saying is, the room would not have caught on fire if Andrews hadn’t have left his Bunsen burner on while he wasn’t at his station. It’s basic lab safety!” LaF throws their hands up in exasperation and Perry nods sagely, resting a comforting hand on their arm.

“But you were dealing with flammable fumes close to an open flame, dear. That had to have posed a hazard in the first place.”

“When he was working at the station, enough motion and hot air was circulating to dispel the fumes! It should have been fine! But then he just  _ had  _ to go and break a graduated cylinder and run to the supply room, leaving the flame open and ready to blow stuff up!”

“Can I just ask what part of the human genome requires flammable gasses?” You inquire from your side of the table.

“The fumes are flammable, but not the liquids. I’m trying to find a new way to sequence DNA by isolating the mitochondria from a cell. I want to see if there’s an antibody or something that’ll break down other parts of the cells and leave the mitochondria behind so I can learn more about the mitochondrial DNA, which you can only get from the egg cell that you grew from.”

“That’s… a lot.” You never knew there were different types of DNA. Maybe that’s why you were a reporter and not a biology researcher.

“It’s super interesting, my favorite project I’ve gotten to spearhead so far.”

“It’s a very complex project, I’m so proud of them.” Perry smiles at LaF and they squeeze the hand that Perry still rested on their forearm. 

Seeing their adorable show of affection, your mind quickly leaps to the most recent object of  _ your  _ affection.

Carm had been on your mind a lot recently... After your date on Saturday, she’d texted you that she had gotten home safely. You sent back a selfie of yourself tucked into bed and a smile on your face. She had love reacted to the message, and when she did, your chest had swelled. 

You recalled how her hands felt against you; pulling your hips closer to hers, your fingers tangled in her hair. Her eyes had been so dark and intense. You could tell she liked to make eye contact when she pulled away from a kiss. 

LaF suddenly clears their throat and you realize you are seriously zoning out.

“Oh, sorry.” You force an awkward laugh. “Just got lost in thought for a second.”

LaF smirks, “Wouldn’t have anything to do with a hot barista, would it?”

In a flash, it dawns on you that you hadn’t told LaF and Perry that you’d asked her out.

Or about the dates you two had been on.

“Oh, yes! Did you ask her out, sweetie?” 

“I did.” You grin, big. “We’ve already been on two dates.”

“How did it go?” They were both turned towards you now, happiness, excitement, and curiosity coloring both of their faces.

“It went really well!” You gush. “Carm’s so incredibly sweet! We saw a movie and got dinner, and she didn’t complain at all that the movie was silly. And after that, she packed a picnic and we went stargazing, which was super romantic. You wouldn’t expect her to be so soft, what with all that eyeliner and leather, and of course the perpetual sarcasm. But,” You say more calmly, “I think I actually kind of like her. Like… in more than a crushing way. I might have really real feelings for her.” You breathe out a sigh of relief.

You really did think your feelings warranted the  _ feelings  _ label. And you know she likes you back. Which definitely gives you butterflies in your stomach. It made you feel so juvenile. Like a teenager having a crush for the first time. 

“That’s wonderful, Laura.”

“Yeah, it sounds like she’s a catch, I hope it works out.”

You had yet to plan another date with Carmilla, but you texted each other all the time. You talked in the mornings and she still shamelessly flirted with you. You don’t think she’s seeing anyone else, and you definitely aren’t. Does going on two dates count as seeing someone? 

“I do too.” You nod your head a couple of times. “But enough about me, Perry how is it going with that client of yours that was complaining about your delivery rates?”

The rest of the dinner goes smoothly. You eventually say goodnight to your friends. Carmilla texts you when you get home. You smile at your phone and text her back. She keeps texting you as you get ready for bed and she ends the conversation with “See you tomorrow, cutie.” and a winky emoji. 

It takes you a while to get to sleep, having to tame the fluttering in your chest and all.

*****

Carmilla is really broody. You think it’s cute. She’s always so serious, acting as if she’d rather be in her own world instead of dealing with everyone else’s problems. Except with you. It makes you feel special like it’s a gift to get her affection.

She’s at the espresso machine teaching someone how to steam milk, and you can see how much she actually cares about it. Carm helps the barista move their hand from the bottom of the pitcher to the side so that they don’t burn their hands. She notices you standing there and winks at you from that side of the bar.

You watch her while she works and you realize that she looks like she’s having a really good time. She’s chatting with some of the customers that she’s giving drinks out too. Eventually, you see her stacking all of your drinks in their carrier, with the drink she made for you sitting on top, like always.

She calls out your name and you go to grab the trays. She slides them out to you and you say, “Hey.”

“Hey, cutie. How are you?”

“I’m alright. How are you?”

“I’m good.” She smiles at you. “We should do something together this week.”

You grin back, “What did you have in mind?”

“I dunno, it’s your turn to plan the date.”

“I guess you’re right in that regard, but you’re the one who asked me out this time.” 

She twists her face like she’s thinking really hard about something, but then candidly rebuts, “Yeah, but I think I win.”

You roll your eyes at her, but you decide to let her have it. “Fine. You win this time.” Her face morphs from her usual flirtation face to a smug grin. “But  _ only  _ this time. Don’t get used to it.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. You don’t strike me as a girl who likes to lose.”

“Never.”

You leave soon after that, willing the gears in your head to turn and plan your date with Carmilla.

*****

You’re on your lunch break and Danny asks if you wanted to grab lunch with her. You agree because, well, food, and also she’s nice.

She picks a place a few blocks from the office and you both make up stories about the different passersby, each of them getting their own name and personality. The man nearly sprinting across the road yelling into his phone was named Geoff, spelled the dumb way, because he likes to feel cooler than he really is. The woman walking her two Yorkies and sipping a cup of coffee is named Alice, she’s well off after selling a few novels and taking a seven-year-long sabbatical in Germany.

You both make some small talk over coworkers and the weather. She laughs at a few of your jokes, and you suddenly wonder if she may have any advice on what to do for a third date.

“What would you do for a third date with someone?”

“Are you seeing someone?” She asks. 

“Yeah, I guess so. We’ve been out twice now, and we text all the time. The first date we went to the movies, and the second she packed a picnic, and I don’t know what to do now. Should I cook dinner? Have her over?”

“I think that sounds good. If she’s been over to your place before, it would be less weird too.” You both nodded. “What’s she like?”

You couldn’t help but let the smile spread across your face. “She’s really sweet. Her name’s Carmilla, she works at the Starbucks I stop at for the office in the morning.”

“Oh. Carmilla.” Danny rolls her eyes and you get a little offended at her tone.

“Do you know her?”

“I know of her. We have a couple of mutual college friends.” Danny took another bite of her sandwich. “Betty said she flirted with her constantly, and any other woman who came into the store. Like she’s some sort of latte casanova.”

“I mean, she is really flirty, but I wouldn’t call her a casanova.” 

“All I’m saying is be careful. She knows her way around, and I know for a fact she left a string of broken hearts behind her in college.”

You quickly decide to change the subject. Suddenly, your sandwich seemed less appetizing than before.

Was Carmilla truly just leading you on before moving on to the next girl that caught her eye? Stargazing and packing a picnic in the park seemed like a lot of trouble just to get someone into bed if that’s what she’s trying to do. And she didn’t even sleep with you that night when you had climbed into her lap with single-minded intent.

Danny’s comments were leaving a sour taste in your mouth, and now you kinda wish that you hadn’t brought it up. You were feeling pressure now. Like you had to over-analyze every interaction you had ever had together to see if she was being genuine. You take a calming breath. But that was back in college, people change and grow up. Just because she was a certain way back then, that doesn’t mean she’s the same way now.

Breaking your train of thought, your phone dings and you see Carmilla’s name on your phone screen. She asked you how your day was going. You decide to put away whatever lingering doubts you had and respond.

*****

Carmilla was tying her apron on and walking towards you behind the counter. Her hair was down and her curls were framing her face in a way that was particularly cute this morning. She had a spot of something dark on her cheek and that small smile she always gave you.

“Hey!” You say across the counter. Your nervous excitement must radiate off of you because she raises an eyebrow at you.

“Hey, what’s got you in such a good mood this early?”

“Nothing much, just about to ask some girl if she wants to have dinner with me tonight.”

“Oh, where would this dinner be, should the said girl choose to accept?” She recoils dramatically, making a shocked facial expression.

“At my apartment. I make a mean chicken parmesan.” You bite your bottom lip and shrug your shoulders at her. 

“A dinner date and a home-cooked meal? Sounds like she’s something special.” Her perpetual smirk softens and your heart jumps.

You couldn’t help the smile that breaks across your face.

“Maybe so, the jury’s still out. How does seven sound?” 

Carmilla gives you another small smile and says, “That sounds good. I’ll be there.” 

“Okay, awesome! Bye!” You grab your drinks and hurry out the door, hoping you weren’t too awkward.

*****

You just put the food in the oven when your phone goes off across the kitchen. Carmilla’s texted you that she’s downstairs. You respond quickly and buzz her up, and a minute or so later, you hear a knock at your door.

“Hey.” She says in the doorway, and you move to the side to let her in.

“Hey yourself.” You take a moment to look at her outfit. She’s wearing the leather jacket she wore before, and a pair of ripped jeans and heavy boots. “You look good.”

“Thanks, you do too.” You’ve got on an apron because you didn’t want to risk spilling tomato sauce all over your outfit, which was a carefully chosen button-up sleeveless top and a pair of nice jeans. 

“The food should be done in like, 15 minutes, I hope you don’t mind the wait.” 

“I don’t mind.” She pulls off her jacket and holds it up. “Anywhere you’d like me to put this?” 

“I can take it.” You grab it and go to hang it on your coat rack, but before you can, she reaches for your forearm and pulls you closer to her. She presses a quick kiss to your cheek and you feel heat rise where her lips were just touching your skin. 

“Thank you for dinner. It smells great.”

“You’re welcome, it tastes even better than it smells.”

“I believe you.” You both moved further into your apartment and you noticed Carmilla looking at everything carefully.

“If you want to connect your phone to the speaker, you can put on some music.” You point to the speaker that’s in front of your tv. 

“Okay, cool.”

Carmilla busies herself with putting on some music while you open the bottle of wine you’d bought for tonight. Google had said that it paired well with the dinner you were making and you figured, why not? The tug in your chest that Carmilla wasn’t actually interested in you had almost immediately faded when she entered your space again. She wasn’t acting any differently than before. She chose a Fleetwood Mac album and she was leaning on the back of your couch, tapping her foot to the beat, her eyes watching you move around the kitchen.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” 

She nodded, and then slowly walking into the kitchen with you. You fish the glasses out of a cabinet and as she inspects the label on the bottle.

“Nice red, didn’t know you were into wines.” She looks vaguely impressed and you giggle a little.

“I’m really not, google just gave me the recommendation.” You don’t know why you’re so nervous. This isn’t the first time she’s been in your apartment, or even in your personal space for that matter, but you still feel a little on edge. As you fill the glasses, she leans against the counter and you can feel her eyes watching you.

You hand her her glass and she thanks you. Her red lips touch the rim of the glass when she takes a sip and you remember exactly how it feels to kiss those lips. She’s wearing lipstick tonight and you have to catch yourself before your thoughts turn any more inappropriate.

A silence lapses between you and you hate how awkward it feels. It’s never really been uncomfortable between the two of you, and you know it’s your fault.

“So, are you a big Fleetwood Mac fan?”

It seems like a good place to start.

“More Stevie than anything. She’s incredible, even though her voice isn’t the same anymore.”

“What happened?” You wish you’d made something on the stovetop so you can busy yourself with something instead of just standing there with her.

“Drugs, cutie. All the drugs. But she’s also getting older, it happens. She still sounds good in my opinion, just not the way it used to be.” She walks out of the kitchen and into the dining room, setting down her glass on the table. “Do you want me to set the table?”

You almost actually facepalm because you forgot to do that. All your dinners were eaten on your couch in front of whatever show you had on. It completely slipped your mind to set the table.

“Oh, gosh I’m sorry! I totally forgot.” You rush to pull plates and silverware from their spots so fast that you nearly knock over your glass that you’d set down on the counter.

She moves quickly, grabbing the plates from you with a smile and setting them on the counter. “It’s okay, I can do this since you made dinner.” You hand her the silverware and she goes back into the dining room, finding the napkins and setting the table.

You let out a sigh and try to relax. Checking your watch, you see that there are only five more minutes on the food. You decide to open the oven and peek inside. A new song starts playing over the speaker and out of the corner of your eye, you see Carmilla perk up a little. She starts singing along softly along with it and you’re surprised at how lovely her voice is.

You try to not sound too surprised when you ask, “You can sing?”

“Can’t everyone?” You roll your eyes at her and see her smirking at you from the dining room.

“You know what I meant.” 

“I used to. In school.” She takes a long drink from her glass, finishing off the rest of her drink.

“What did you study?” 

“I was a philosophy major at Silas, which led me to a successful career in Starbucks management.” You both chuckle.

“Well, I studied investigative journalism and I make coffee runs for a living, so almost the same boat.” You say, pulling out a pair of oven mitts.

“Such is life, I suppose.” She smiles at you and then continues, “I’m glad you make coffee runs. Otherwise, I never would have met you.”

That familiar fluttering in your chest comes back and your ears go a little warm. You distract yourself by pulling the pan from the oven and Carmilla makes her way back into the kitchen, her steps slow and purposeful.

You turn towards her and clap your hands together. “Well, dinner’s ready!”

“It looks fantastic, thank you.” Her hands fall to your waist and she kisses you on the corner of your mouth,

*****

You’re about halfway through dinner and Carmilla has complimented the food no less than three times. 

“I promise, it’s really nothing extravagant.” You try and brush her off again, but she seems intent on making you take the compliment.

“I don’t remember the last time someone made me dinner, cupcake. This was really sweet.” Her face shows nothing but sincerity.

“You better stop with all the compliments or I’ll think you just want to get lucky.” You regret the words as soon as they leave your mouth. That sour taste Danny gave you earlier creeps back in and the smile drops from your face.

Carmilla notices the shift in your mood and she lowers her fork, “Hey, what just happened?” You shake your head at her concerned gaze, but she doesn’t let you off that easy. She taps the toe of her foot against yours under the table, “You’ve been a little quiet all evening, actually. Is something wrong? Was it something I did?”

You sigh and respond, “No, not really, at least.”

“What do you mean?” Her forehead crinkles. “Talk to me, cutie.”

“It’s just me being stupid, just forget about it.” You shake your head again, but this time Carmilla grabs your free hand with hers and squeezes it softly.

“You aren’t being stupid, something’s bothering you and I want to help. What’s wrong?” She’s looking you in the eyes and you decide to say it.

“My friend Danny said that you have a bit of a reputation for, uh, well, being very flirtatious, and sleeping with girls, and then kinda ghosting them.” She furrows her brow, but you don’t give her a chance to respond, “And I know I shouldn’t listen to gossip about you from someone who you probably wouldn’t even know, and that even if it is true, that doesn’t mean that’s what you’re doing with me, and that I should have just talked to you instead of getting insecure and being awkward, but you’re kind of really nice and funny and super gorgeous and I think I kind of actually like you.” It all comes out in a rush.

Her eyebrows come out of their furrow and nearly become level with her hairline. You blow out a breath in finality and she’s quiet for a moment before responding.

“Is that really what you thought? That I was leading you on just to sleep with you?” Her face falls and you feel a pang of guilt.

“Yes! NO! I don’t-” You pull your hand from hers and run both of them down your face. “No, I don’t think you were leading me on, but there was a seed of doubt, and I couldn’t shake it, and now I feel embarrassed.”

Carmilla tapped your foot again and took a breath. “Your friend was telling the truth. When I was in school I was not the most mature or considerate individual and that caused me to hurt a lot of people. I was hoping that I could eventually escape the “lady-killer” reputation, but no dice so far.” She was searching your face for something, but you weren’t sure what. “I’m sorry that I inadvertently made you doubt my intentions with you. I like dating you. I like you.”

Her words take a minute to sink in, but once they do, you feel like you’re floating. Carmilla likes you. She likes you,  _ and  _ she said you were dating. All things you knew, as you were actively on a date, but the confirmation from her makes you feel like fireworks are going off in your chest.

“You like me?”  _ That was a stupid question.  _

“Yeah, I thought it was a little obvious, to be honest.” She smiles at you and you laugh quietly.

A small silence washes over the both of you and you catch her eyes. She’s looking at you with those same warm eyes that you haven’t gotten used to. To break whatever tension remained, you suggested that you both curl up on the couch and watch a movie.

*****

You’re about an hour through the movie you picked on Netflix and the way that things with Carmilla went back to comfortable so easily puts you incredibly at ease. Your head is resting on her shoulder and her arm is around you, and it feels so  _ good _ . Turns out that communicating with her wasn’t as scary as you thought. That piece of knowledge makes you feel warm inside, knowing that she respects you and wants to know what you’re thinking. She wants to know you and that realization floods you with affection for her.

Her snarky commentary on the movie never ceases, she only relents whenever you have some overly empathetic objection. You relish in the way you can feel her laughter through her chest against your cheek because it was a gift that you get to hear it. She didn’t laugh often. Smirk? Yes, all the time. She has a laugh that's for polite company, but it's just her blowing air out of her nose. She had that small, shy smile that she tried to hide from you (and probably everyone), but those small chuckles at some dumb kids movie that you put on were so precious.

“Carm?” 

She looked over at you and pinched up her face, “Who said you could shorten my name?”

“I did.” You give her a cheeky smile. “What’s your love language? I want to know. For science.”

She takes a moment to think before she responds, “Probably quality time, for receiving. I think acts of service for giving.”

“That’s cute.” She narrows her eyes and pokes you in the side.

“What about you?” 

“Words of affirmation for receiving and physical touch for giving.”

She pauses and takes in all of the points of contact between the two of you sitting on the couch, then that smile makes its way back onto her face. Her arm tightens around your shoulders and you find yourself sinking more into her side. You lean up and press a kiss to her cheek and you swear you see her blush.


End file.
